PureVolume

California votes on February 5th. Here are my current thoughts on each candidate.

I do not like Hillary Clinton. I don't like Bill, either. I think they're centrists who wasted the 1990s, a time that someday we'll look back on as the last chance we had to avert a lot of the disasters of the 21st century. Bill was too afraid of criticism to make bold moves, unless it related to ass. I have no respect for him. He left hundreds of thousands of Rwandans to die. Hillary, for her part, shows a lot of the same flaws he does. Centrism, triangulation, pandering... she would betray left ideals every bit as much as Bill did. She refuses to make hard statements. She's not open and honest. She hides things. The difference is that the stakes are higher now, and I'm fucking sick of politicians who hide things. Most importantly, her election would either cause a split within the left wing or sedate it. This would endanger the rise of the netroots and youth political engagement. However, I'd vote for her in a general election because it'd be wonderful to have a female president and I don't want the courts to drift any further to the right. Most likely, I'd end up playing the same songs I've had to play through the Bush era.

I like Edwards. He has some excellent stances that would translate into great policies. He displays sensitivity but doesn't whine. He's a champion of the middle class. He genuinely cares about the poor. He'd be good for labor. Overall, I see him as a more liberal version of Bill Clinton who would actually use his mojo for helping people instead of cheating on his wife. On the other hand, his speeches aren't as fiery or bold as I'd like for a liberal who's endured 7 years under thugs like W and Cheney. But I like his supporters a lot. Would be happy to vote for him in the general election. I'd also try to convince other people to vote for him, a key distinction from Hillary, who I could take no pride in supporting.

If California was voting today, I'd choose Obama. I wasn't sold on him until about a month ago, but he got me. Actually, it's more that his supporters got me. I love the fact that they support him because they hope he'll bring change. This would morph into a great mandate if he was elected. How politicians behave has a lot to do with what their campaign supporters believe and wish for. I like his personality. He's open and makes bold statements. He's open about things, even personal things like drug use. He's calm and responds to attacks more than he launches them. I hope he doesn't get shot like RFK, MLK, Malcolm X, Bob Marley, JFK and John Lennon. All people with good ideas run the risk.

All three candidates have acceptable positions on Iraq. My favorites are the lower tier candidates Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich, who support immediate withdrawal and voted to cut Bush's funding whilst continually BLASTING the administration. However, I reluctantly accept the reality of the {2-party / broken media} system and will settle for one of the main candidates this time around.

In any case, no one running is perfect. I can envision scenarios in which they all fail or betray my beliefs. But I don't mind. It's not like your candidates sign contracts with you; it's more like you bet on one and hope it pays off. I'm willing to bet on Obama.